Holy Cross Theatre Department Presents Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre

WORCESTER, Mass. – The department of theatre at the College of the Holy Cross presents the Shakespearean romance of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Directed by Edward Isser, professor of theatre, this seldom-performed play will be presented on Nov. 6-8 and 13-15 at 8 p.m. in Fenwick Theatre (located on the second floor of O’Kane Hall). Tickets are $7 for members of the Holy Cross community and $10 for the general public. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $5 each.

“The play is lots of fun and completely crazy… and as a result it is never boring or conventional,” says Isser.

This lesser-known work of Shakespeare focuses on the tragedies and triumphs of Pericles, played by Jason Frank ’09. Pericles is a good prince subjected to the evils of men and the harshness of nature. He undeservedly loses both his wife and his daughter, and in his devastation he faces a heartbreaking end, or so he thinks: fortune has a different, more miraculous plan for Pericles and his family. This fairy tale of suffering and redemption demonstrates the transformative possibilities of the magical and the mystical.

“The genius of Shakespeare is his ability to be incredibly entertaining while simultaneously profound,” explains Isser. “We can have lots of laughs one minute and then in the next be deeply moved; no play in the entire Shakespearean canon takes its audience on such a wild and unpredictable roller-coaster ride as does Pericles.”

Isser has been directing Shakespeare regularly in Worcester for the last decade, most recently at Foothills Theatre downtown and for the Redfeather Theatre Company at Holy Cross.  It has been five years since he last directed a Shakespearean production on campus (Timon of Athens in 2003).